Evil Heart

For the second time this year, my services were no longer needed in New York City. Fine by me.

[checks bay area weather forecast]

91° on Wednesday and Thursday?!


A regional transit day pass costs $9. Requires an ORCA card. ORCA cards cost $5.

But I don't need an ORCA card! I'm only in Seattle for four days! How broke is King County Metro Transit?

One day later: Hi. Can you break a five for me? Only if I buy something?

Two days later: Bollocks. I'm short a quarter. It's 2014! Why don't buses accept credit cards?

[pays $2.50 bus fare with three one dollar bills, receives no change]

I wonder how Washington's tourism office feels about King County Metro Transit's tyranny.

Oh. Heh. Washington eliminated its tourism office in 2011.


Lyft just launched in Louisville and is advertising unlimited free rides for two weeks.

Ever the opportunist, I travel to an ice cream shop via Lyft. My driver is a jovial bloke, and I am his first-ever passenger.

I check my mobile after he drops me off.

Consider a donation of $13.

[pause]

I expected to be asked to tip for my free ride, but a $13 "donation"? If you advertise free rides, shouldn't you be able to comfortably cover the cost of all the free rides you're offering?

I decrease the donation amount to $3 – a 20%-plus tip – and am informed that low donations may make it hard for me to get rides in the future.

[pause]

Philanthropic blackmail.

I end up donating $5, rationalizing that I just won't use Lyft again. If I receive a low rating from my driver, so be it.

I wrestle with guilt the rest of the afternoon. What if $5 is all he earns? What kind of maiden passenger am I? But….."free"!

I travel back to my hotel via uberX.


I saw a man getting his hair cut in a barber shop inside Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

I want to know the reasoning behind branding newsstands in airports with cable news networks – CNN, CNBC, Fox News. What cachet do they add?

Are there liberals who will not buy snacks from a Fox News-branded newsstand?

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